Audio By Carbonatix
The Supreme Court has, in a unanimous decision, stated that the Electoral Commission (EC) cannot hold elections in electoral areas that were created by the Minister of Local Government between 2004 and 2007.
The ruling if not challenged, means that 30 constituencies created by the then Minister cannot be said to exist.
The court in its ruling stated that it was illegal for the Local Government Minister to have created electoral areas since the Minister does not have the constitutional mandate to do so.
The court will on October 24 rule on a similar case on the legality of 45 constituencies laid before Parliament by the current Minister of Local Government.
The seven-member panel, made up of William Atuguba, Prof. S.K. Date-Bah, Sofia Adinyira, Rose Owusu, Annin Yeboah, N.S. Gbedegbe and Vida Akuffo, stated that “the plaintiff's action succeeds and the various Legislative Instruments are thereby declared null and void.”
The ruling, which was read by Prof. Date-Bah, stated that the court would grant two of the reliefs sought by the applicant, Dr. Clement Apaak.
The plaintiff was seeking a declaration that the various Legislative Instrument laid in Parliament by the Minister of Local Government and which came into force after 21 parliamentary sitting days were made by the Minister in contravention of the Article 45 (b) of the Constitution, to the extent that those Legislative Instruments purported to create electoral areas for various districts, municipalities or metropolis in Ghana.
The court stated, however, that the order of perpetual injunction restraining the EC from conducting any national or local elections on the basis of the electoral areas until those electoral areas are properly constituted in accordance with law would be unreasonable and would therefore grant a fair relief.
The Supreme Court added that the EC in its defence considered that it was only the EC that had a constitutional mandate to create electoral areas and that some of the areas created by the Minister were already existing in a Constitutional Instrument.
The court added that the constituencies created by the Local Government, which were also in the one EC created in CI 46, could hold.
Convenor of the Forum for Governance and Justice, Dr. Clement Apaak filed a suit at the Supreme Court challenging the legality of the 30 new constituencies created under the erstwhile Kufuor administration in 2004.
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
Tags:
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
Latest Stories
-
More than 100 aftershocks hit Japan after powerful quake that killed 13
33 seconds -
Court restrains Adwoa Safo from proceeding with Kwadwo Safo Kantanka funeral arrangements
13 minutes -
Security agencies must act early to prevent unrest over Kantanka funeral standoff — Jatikay Centre
21 minutes -
Giving with purpose, not pressure: Rethinking a sacred duty
24 minutes -
Ghana Water Ltd announces temporary water supply interruptions after national power outage
27 minutes -
Mid-Year Budget Review: Deloitte commends government for encouraging domestic revenue performance
27 minutes -
Davis Ansah Opoku welcomes Supreme Court ruling on OSP, AG powers
31 minutes -
Glasgow 2026: Shoulder fracture forces boxer Desmond Pappoe to withdraw from 80kg quarter-final contest
45 minutes -
Mid-Year Budget Review: Energy sector remains a significant fiscal risk to economy – Deloitte
46 minutes -
Gabon’s President praises Ghana’s mining reforms, backs push for greater transparency
52 minutes -
GNFS prevents major power outage after extinguishing electrical fire at Tetegu
59 minutes -
Ga Mantse leads investor delegation to TOR to explore strategic investment opportunities
1 hour -
Supreme Court ruling on internal party elections will deepen democracy – Paa Kwesi Schandorf
1 hour -
OSP can prosecute independently, but AG has power to terminate cases – Supreme Court
2 hours -
Dome-Kwabenya MP condemns road encroachment, illegal development during inspection tour
2 hours